US military morale is reportedly at 'rock bottom' again

Army
soldiers mourn the loss of one of their own, an unfortunate
reality of military service.AP

Since 2009, $287 million has been spent on programs aimed at
improving morale within the US military, which has shouldered two
major overseas combat deployments over the past decade.

But these efforts may have been largely fruitless, as 52% of
soldiers across all branches remain "pessimistic about their
future in the military," according to an April USA
Today report.

For decades, analysts have
consistently reported on supposedly declining US military morale,
even before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A Brookings
Institution report
notes: "Observers regularly fretted over low morale during the
defense drawdown of the 1990s, during the start of the Iraq War,
during the Iraq Surge, during the Afghanistan Surge; and at
practically all the points in between
... After each
report of troop morale hitting 'rock bottom,' troop morale seems
to slip lower yet and, still, the military soldiers on."

In the past, flagging morale
may have been attributable to factors like repeated Iraq or
Afghanistan deployments.

But a 2014 Military Times
study suggests a financial cause for flagging morale:
"In 2009, 87 percent of active-duty troops who participated
in Military Times' survey rated their pay and allowances 'good'
or 'excellent,'" the newspaper reported. "This year, the figure
was just 44 percent."

The US government increased military pay just 1 percent in
2014, the smallest hike in 41 years and down from a 3.9 percent
raise in 2009 and a 6.9 percent jump in 2002, according to the
Military Times.

Soldiers from the 454th
Engineer Company Route Clearance go on a patrol in Sayghani,
Parwan province, Afghanistan, Sept. 27, 2014. The reason for the
patrol was to gather intel on the indirect fire attacks happening
at Bagram Air Field.Staff Sgt.
Daniel Luksan/US Army

Few of the soldiers polled
believed their situation would improve: 70 percent of those Military Times surveyed
said that they expected quality of life under military employment
to decrease further in the future.

Pay and benefits aren't the
only cause of pessimism in the ranks. Some in the military worry
that the the armed forces aren't being adequately led into the
future, and declining morale could signal a general lack of
confidence in the military's leadership.

MSNBC
reports that in 2011 "only 26 percent of Army leaders who
participated agreed with the statement that the Army 'is headed
in the right direction to prepare for the challenges of the next
10 years.'"

According to
the Military
Times, only 27 percent of soldiers thought that
leadership had their best interests at heart.

Despite
years of sustained effort to withdraw troops, a US presence is
still needed in Iraq.Mike Lavigne/US
Army

President Obama is unpopular
with the armed forces as well, though some of his
administration's policies have gained support over the
years.

A separate
Military Times pollfound
Obama's popularity at a dismal 15 percent among soldiers in 2014.
Morale is bound to decline if soldiers don't believe in their
commander-in-chief.

But there's also
information in the poll suggesting that that low number actually
underestimates the president's approval among military personnel:
in the last 5 years, approval for some of Obama's military
policies, like ending Don't Ask Don't Tell and opening combat
units to women, have gained support, seeing a 30 percent rise in
popularity.

There's another possible reason
for drooping morale, especially among soldiers who fought in
either Iraq or Afghanistan: It may be hard for some military
personnel to see their work as effectual while ISIS becomes a
deadly and rising force throughout the Middle East.